Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 9.djvu/304

280 Transportation Company. The rates of passage were at this time from Portland to the lower Cascades, $6.00; passage over the portage, from $1.00 to $3.00. This Union Transportation Company continued to work pretty well for about one year, but there was great difficulty in conflicting ownership and interests of steamers and portages. A closer consolidation of interests seemed to be necessary, and Mr. Ainsworth set about to accomplish this, trying if possible to combine at least the steamboat interests together as one company. In fact, this was an old scheme of his, often talked over with his friend R. R. Thompson, but whose interests were at this time all on the upper Columbia, making it therefore necessary for him to proceed alone, even with an element whose interests were somewhat antagonistic to those of Thompson's. But after much discussion it was agreed between the San Francisco parties owning the control of the steamer "Julia," the parties owning the old boats of the Columbia River Steam Navigation Company, composed of Stark, Reed, Williams, Wells, and Hoyt; the owners of The Oregon Transportation Company, composed of J. S. Ruckle and H. Olmstead and Bradford & Company, owning boats between The Cascades and The Dalles, and J. C. Ainsworth and associates owning the steamer "Carrie Ladd," that it would be desirable to consolidate the different steamboat interests into one company and that it should be done if terms could be agreed upon. This was the beginning of a long discussion as to the valuation of the different boats that should constitute the basis of the new company. This was finally adjusted and an agreement was reached to combine all the steamboat interests between Astoria and The Dalles. The next step was to bring in R. R. Thompson, who owned the steamer "Colonel Wright" and a lot of small sail boats on the upper Columbia River. At length an agreement was reached and the Oregon Steam Navigation Company was formed, with a capital in steamboats and other property at the highest possible figure of $172,500.00.